


When I Leave Your Arms

by tacomuerte



Series: Dianakko Week 2017 [4]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: But yeah it's angsty, Canon-Typical Violence, Dianakko Week 2017, Discussion of Bullying, F/F, Mention of Childhood Traumas, Not as angsty as it sounds, mention of cruelty to animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 20:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12140178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacomuerte/pseuds/tacomuerte
Summary: The Cavendish-Kagari twins are the brightest young witches at Luna Nova Magical Academy, and Akko and Diana couldn’t be prouder of the girls. But when Bernadette’s behavior pushes Kiyoko to the edge, it’s up to two worried mothers to call on every ounce of magic they have to protect their children from each other and the creatures lurking beneath the school.Dianakko Week 2017: Day 4 - Protection/Working Together





	When I Leave Your Arms

_And when I leave your arms_  
_The things that I think of_  
_No need to get over alarmed_

— “Murder in the City” by Brandi Carlile

* * *

During her teenage years, one of Akko’s greatest joys in life had been traveling the ley lines. There was something so fascinating and alien about the experience that it made magic feel real in a visceral way. It didn’t hurt that traveling the ley lines usually meant she was going to Luna Nova, the school where Chariot du Nord had attended, although over time that thrill gave way to eagerness to meet up with her friends, which in turn gave way to anticipation at seeing Diana Cavendish, the girl Akko fell in love with and eventually married.

Today, though, as she zipped through the ley line towards Luna Nova, she felt a palpable sense of dread gathering in her stomach. The past year had been a difficult one for her girls, especially the older twin, Bernadette. She shared Mom’s penchant for pushing boundaries, with trouble drawing her in like it had a magnetic pull on her. Akko had almost become used to Headmistress du Nord calling in both her and Diana to try to talk some sense into the headstrong Detta… although at least Diana—or Professor Cavendish-Kagari as she liked to be called while on the job—didn’t have to travel any farther than a few hallways while Akko often had to scramble from halfway across the world to get to Luna Nova in a timely manner.

Diana kept telling her that the girls were only fifteen. It was a difficult age for Bernadette. It was natural for a child her age to push boundaries.

All Akko could think of when Diana said these things was the bright, sweet girl who looked so much like Akko’s wife in miniature… the little munchkin who loved jumping on Mommy while she slept because out of anyone in the household, she wanted Mommy’s attention… the fiery, brave girl who was quick to lose her temper and and even quicker to forgive and who above all loved completely and with abandon.

But that little girl… Akko’s baby… she was slipping away bit by bit, and nothing anyone did seemed able to bring her back again.

Now, it seemed both girls were in hot water. If it had just been another incident of Bernadette organizing an underground betting ring centered around illegal broom racing or yet another escapade involving the ever-escalating prank war between Luna Nova and Appleton Academy, Akko would have been frustrated (and secretly a bit amused,) but when Chariot had sent Alcor with the message, it had indicated both her girls were in trouble, and Kiyoko _never_ got into trouble unless Detta dragged her kicking and screaming into it. That was why Akko was worried. If Chariot thought she needed Akko and Diana to deal with both twins, something bad must have happened.

It was with those dark thoughts troubling her that Akko exited the ley line arriving at Glastonbury Tor. To her surprise, Sucy was there to greet her instead of Diana.

Seeing her confused expression, Sucy smirked, “Diana asked me to meet you.”

“Why couldn’t she meet me herself?” Akko asked anxiously, fear gripping her. Was Diana hurt? Was one of the girls hurt? Or both? Was that why Diana didn’t meet her like usual?

“Calm down,” Sucy said, frowning. “Your girls did something and the headmistress isn’t letting them out of her sight until both you and Diana are there, and Diana didn’t want to leave the girls.”

Akko sighed. “Thanks. So do you know what they did?”

“How would I know?” Sucy answered, and although it had taken many years, Akko had finally learned to see when Sucy was deflecting or evading like she was now.

“Because you work here,” Akko responded flatly. Sucy had taken over for Professor Lukic after the old woman had finally decided to retire. “And it’s Luna Nova. Nothing stays secret for more than five minutes.”

“Fine, I know,” Sucy replied. “But the headmistress said it’d be my job if I told you.”

“Really?” Akko asked, mounting her broom. The two witches began the flight to the school.

“Boss’ orders,” Sucy said with a lazy grin.

Akko puffed out her cheeks, frustrated. They rode the rest of the way in silence until landing at the front doors.

Sucy turned to her friend and touched Akko’s elbow to get her attention. “They’re up in the headmistress’ office.” She paused, hesitating visibly before adding, “If you need anything afterward, I’ll be in my office, okay?”

That was… ominous. Akko nodded, not trusting herself to speak as tension built. She turned and made her way quickly to Chariot’s office, remembering all the times she had been called on her own antics as a teenager ultimately ending up in that same office when it was occupied by Professor Holbrooke. Akko missed the old woman, but Chariot had been remarkable after she stepped up to the position.

Diana met her at the door to Chariot’s anteroom. The new headmistress had had it installed immediately after accepting the job. She felt that it was best to give students a place to wait while the professors discussed what had happened. Akko certainly would have appreciated it when she was a kid instead of having to stand there silently while various professors discussed just how big a failure she was.

Her pace picked up when she saw her wife, and she embraced Diana immediately. Before she could ask what had happened, Diana broke the hug and opened the door, pulling Akko through.

Their daughters sat on opposite sides of the room, arms crossed and glaring at each other wordlessly.

“So,” Akko began. “Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?”

Neither girl broke the other’s gaze, and Diana’s mouth, which had already been set in a thin, angry line, tightened even further.

Akko reminded herself that impatience wasn’t going to help and prepared to ask her question again when Chariot opened the door. Her old mentor had aged well; her hair was still just as bright red as it had been in her youth, and her face almost always looked ready to break out into an eager grin.

She was not smiling now. “Come in, Akko,” she said, and the anxious witch and her family followed. Diana and Akko stood flanking Chariot, who sat at her desk, while the twins stood side-by-side opposite them.

“Okay,” Akko said, losing her patience. “Last time I’m going to ask. What’s happened?”

“Our daughters,” Diana bit out. “Tried to work out their differences by fighting each other.”

That… didn’t sound that bad. Akko was used to the girls arguing. For most of their lives, the two fluctuated between being best friends and worst enemies, frequently leaving their mothers confused about which status was in play that day.

Seeing her confusion, Chariot clarified, “Not an argument, Akko. It was a literal fight, both physical and magical. Murowa was cast at least once, although it isn’t clear since both girls have refused to speak about it.”

Akko’s eyes bugged as she stared, trembling with anger, at her daughters. They had tried to physically harm each other?! They had cast combat spells at each other?!

“Fine,” Bernadette shouted. “It was me! I cast Murowa! Go ahead and throw me out and let me get on with my life!”

Kiyoko’s cut her eyes at her sister and scoffed, “I cast it, too, Detta.”

“Oh, so now you wanna play the martyr, Kiyo? Earn some more brownie points?” Detta turned towards her sister, fists clenched, and both twins started shouting at each other so loudly and speaking over one another to the point where none of the adults could understand them.

Chariot held a hand up to let Diana and Akko know she didn’t want them to interject themselves into the argument just yet. 

“That’s enough,” Chariot said, forcefully. 

The two girls snapped to attention and resumed their stubborn, silent staring.

“Attacking another witch with a potentially deadly spell is enough to expel both of you,” Chariot continued, grimly. Kiyoko paled, and she looked like she really needed to sit down, but Bernadette only shrugged and rolled her eyes. 

Not rising to the bait, Chariot continued, “Which is why I’ve called your mothers in. Usually, we handle discipline in-house although considering her record of past service, I have permitted Akko to attend these meetings in the past and have asked her to be present today.” She did not mention that all those meetings had been to deal with only one of the twins, but the message was clear. “You two are the two most powerful, talented witches we’ve ever had at Luna Nova, and I’d rather not have to toss you out on your ears.

“I will _not_ tolerate violence towards _anyone_ from students, whether they be fellow students, faculty, or sisters. Now… what caused this altercation?”

For several moments, neither twin spoke. Kiyo openly stared at Detta, trying to will her to confess whatever it was that Kiyo thought she had done while Detta looked straight ahead almost calmly, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

“One or both of you,” Diana said quietly. “Had better begin speaking _right now_.”

Kiyoko scowled silently at the adults for a moment before declaring, “Bernadette is bullying my roommate.” Her voice was quiet, but determined. Akko knew from experience that she wouldn’t say something like that without truly believing it.

“No,” Akko protested. “That’s impossible. Detta wouldn’t—”

Kiyo didn’t let her even finish the sentence before angrily interrupting, her bright blue eyes flashing as she said, “You haven’t heard the _awful_ things she’s said to Prisha! You haven’t had to hold your friend while she cried because your sister made her feel like a worthless failure because she couldn’t cast a spell in class!”

Akko shook her head in disbelief. Kiyo had to be wrong… Her baby girl… Her Detta… The little girl that cried for hours when she found a bird with an injured wing and had devoted herself to nursing that bird back to health… This _had_ to be a misunderstanding… No, her Detta couldn’t— 

Akko’s frantic thoughts were cut short as Bernadette sneered at her sister, “I only told your loser roommate the truth. She’s not a _real_ witch. She can barely use magic at all!”

The words—so similar to words that still echoed in Akko’s mind, burned into her memory from her early school days—stabbed at her like a dagger twisting in her gut.

“Oh?” Kiyo sneered back. “Because a real witch picks on others? Tells them to quit school? Tells them everyone would be better off without them?”

Detta laughed, cruel and cold, saying, “All she does is hold you back while you coddle her instead of performing _real_ magic!”

“You want to see real magic?” Kiyoko threatened, voice low and filled with menace.

“I already did,” Bernadette replied smugly. “You weren’t holding back when you attacked me, were you?”

Kiyo’s face twisted with rage. “I found Prisha packing her trunk, ready to quit school! She told me she wished she’d never been born!” 

Both girls started shouting again, but Akko barely registered the noise. She felt actual physical pain in her heart, like it was splitting in two, at her eldest’s words. She had no idea what Chariot or Diana thought about this because she couldn’t take her eyes off the cruel, arrogant, jeering frown that marred her beautiful little girl’s face. She couldn’t force herself to believe this. Images of Hannah and Barbara and Avery and countless other girls who had made Akko’s life so thoroughly and completely miserable in her early days at Luna Nova flashed across her mind. Her girl couldn’t be like _them_.

“You… No… just no…” Akko sputtered, as both girls stopped arguing to face their mom with worried looks. “It’s not possible! Please… Detta, tell me…”

Detta dropped her eyes to the floor. It was an admission of guilt. She could never meet Akko’s eyes when she had disappointed her.

Akko—almost as if she wasn’t physically inhabiting her own body—felt herself embraced by Diana, who whispered comforts Akko couldn’t decipher. 

Chariot sat, hands folded in front of her watching the girls, having watched the scene unfold, had one single question. “Why, Bernadette?”

The blonde girl refused to look up, only offering a shrug instead of any reason. 

Kiyoko looked at her sister scornfully. She opened her mouth to deliver the kind of subtly scathing remark that often came so easily to her when Chariot cut her off.

“Are you trying to get yourself expelled?” the headmistress asked.

Bernadette finally looked up, glaring at Chariot. She snorted out a laugh and muttered, “It’s not like anyone ever asked if I wanted to be here in the first place.”

“What?” Diana asked, echoing Akko’s stunned confusion. Kiyo was also shocked, watching Detta wide-eyed.

Detta’s red-eyed stare could have bored holes through Chariot as the rebellious teen refused to look away now. “Yeah, go ahead and toss me out. I don’t care.”

“How can you say that?” Akko exclaimed. “Luna Nova is—”

“Your dream, Mom,” Bernadette bit out. “Luna Nova is your dream, not mine.”

“You…” Diana began, hesitating on the words. “Don’t you want to be the best witch you can be?”

Bernadette looked at Diana, her face breaking into a picture of sorrow, and replied, “I don’t want to be a witch at all.”

Hearing that her precious little girl had turned to bullying other students was like a sharp punch to the jaw for Akko. Hearing that Bernadette didn’t want to be at Luna Nova and didn’t even want to be a witch was a body blow. She grabbed the back of the headmistress’ chair to prevent her knees from buckling.

Kiyo spoke in a whisper, “But why, Detta?” The young brunette looked as stricken as Akko felt.

Cutting her eyes over to her twin, Detta bit out, “Because I’ll never be _you_ , Kiyo. I’ll never be the perfect student who never messes up. And I’ll never be Mother, the most talented witch since the Nine Olde Witches, and I’ll never be, Mom, the witch everyone in the world loves, either. I’ll never be…” She clenched her fists and growled in frustration. “Whatever. Just throw me out and get it over with.”

For several seconds, everyone was still as they struggled to take in Bernadette’s words. Even Chariot seemed speechless. 

Finally, Diana quietly asked, “What will you never be, Detta?” She rarely addressed the children by their nicknames, preferring the pretty names she and Akko had picked out. It was a point of pride for Diana. When she did call them Detta and Kiyo, it was usually in moments when she wanted to put them at ease.

Akko only wished she could be as calm as her wife. Her little girl wanted to throw her life away before it had even begun.

A strange calm settled over Bernadette as she leveled an even gaze at the adults. “I’ll never be anything but a freak… a magical accident. It wasn’t like I was supposed to ever exist, really.”

“Is that what you think, Detta?” Kiyo asked, her voice a mixture of horror and anger. “That you and I are just a freak accident?”

Akko didn’t know what to do. She looked at Diana, and her wife looked equally lost. She turned her gaze to Chariot to find her intently watching the twins with her hands tented in front of her face.

Detta shook her head. “No,” she replied bitterly. “They all love you. I’m just the leftover that no one really wanted.”

“That is not true,” Diana said forcefully, cold fury creeping into her eyes.

Akko nodded sharply, “You have to know how much we love you, Detta.”

“Kiyoko,” the headmistress calmly stated looking at her scrying orb, interrupting any further conversation. “Your roommate are outside. I had expected to discuss what happened with them, but seeing as we have a full confession…” She paused to glance at Bernadette, who dropped her gaze to her feet again, before continuing, “I’d like to discuss the matter with your mothers. Please wait outside—both of you—and Bernadette, due to the nature of the accusation, I’d ask you to refrain from speaking to Kiyoko’s roommates, please.”

Bernadette’s nod was barely perceptible, but it seemed to be enough for Chariot. Kiyoko looked unconvinced, but another look from the headmistress silenced any dissent. 

Diana was still focused on Akko, but she spared a sad glimpse at the twins while Akko just watched Detta, trying to will the girl to look at her. She would forgive Detta for anything, even something as horrible in Akko’s mind as bullying, if she would just look at her… just reach out… Akko would make her understand how loved and valued she was… if only her little girl would look at her… 

But Detta didn’t look at her. Instead, she walked wordlessly from the room as Kiyo followed, eyeing her sister with open suspicion.

The door shut behind her girls and Akko willed herself to at least look like she was holding it together. She squeezed her wife close before letting her go.

“I don’t know what to say, Chariot,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper.

Diana ran a shaking hand through her blonde hair, saying, “I’m at a loss, too, Akko. I… I’ve failed you and the girls.”

Akko looked at Diana in shock leaving Chariot to ask the obvious question.

“How?” the headmistress asked. “So much happens that we don’t see. The girls here at Luna Nova live in their own world most of the day. Both of you should know that.”

Diana didn’t look satisfied. In truth, neither was Akko, but she couldn’t just sit by. She had to save her little girl from herself.

“What can we do, Chariot?” Akko asked.

Her old mentor sighed. “Something’s going on here, Akko. We’re missing something. I know that Bernadette’s not had the easiest year, but as recently as a couple of months ago, she was getting along fine with Kiyoko and Kiyoko’s roommates, and I certainly hadn’t picked up on self-esteem issues this severe.” She paused, stood, and hugged both Akko and Diana. “Something’s changed. I don’t know what, but I’ll find out, and I’m not letting Bernadette do something this rash without doing everything I can for her. I don’t know what to do about the bullying, though, and casting dangerous magic at her sister…” 

The headmistress released Akko and Diana, letting out a frustrated sigh before continuing, “ I’m sorry. I thought I could reach her before it came to something like this.”

Akko looked at Chariot with a furrowed brow asking, “You knew she was acting this way? Bullying?” She tried—and failed—to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice. In the end, she wasn’t sure she cared enough to be polite when her baby was in trouble.

“No,” Chariot said, taking no offense as she sat again. “I knew she was coming into conflict with other students. I knew she was pulling away from her own friends. I didn’t realize it had come to the point where she and her own sister would come to blows.”

“Diana?” Akko asked. “Can you think of any reason she’s acting this way?” She was desperate for brilliant wife to have some insight… some key piece of information Akko had overlooked that would let them reach Detta. It was all she had to hang onto.

Diana shook her head and wiped away a tear. “No,” she said with a sob. “I knew she and Kiyo were arguing constantly this entire school year, but any time I tried to get them to even sit down to dinner together with me, it devolved into a shouting match within moments.

“How could I have missed this, Headmistress? I’m their mother. I should have seen it.” 

Chariot’s smile was sad as she answered, “I think none of the other students wanted to be the one to tell you. You’re quite beloved by the students, Diana.” At the look of disbelief on the blonde professor’s face, she chuckled. “I know you think that the students believe you’re too hard on them, but it’s easy to see how much they love you. No one goes as far to help them as you do.”

Diana looked away. “I… After my time here at Luna Nova, seeing how some professors ignored students who very much needed extra care and attention… ” she trailed off, this time unable to stop quiet tears from falling. “That was a lesson I learned during my years here. If only I had done that for my daughter.”

Akko’s heart swelled with love for her wife, and she embraced Diana, stroking her hair. “After all this time,” she whispered to Diana. “You’re still trying to make up for something that wasn’t your fault, and there’s no way you can help Detta if she doesn’t want help, Diana.”

“I could have done more, Akko,” Diana insisted. “I should’ve done more for you… and for Bernadette.”

“ _We_ , Diana. We should have done more,” Akko insisted right back. “And we will do more. Detta needs us. Both our girls need us, and we’re going to be there for them.” She gave her wife a final squeeze before turning to Chariot. “You said you think there’s something more?”

“I do,” Chariot replied, but before she could say more, the door to her office burst open.

Prisha, Kiyo’s roommate and the victim of Detta’s bullying, stood there looking terrified, eyes darting back and forth between the three older women. Akko looked at her closely, unsure if she was looking to see why Detta would choose her specifically or for some other reason. Akko hadn’t really paid much attention to the girl before. She was shy and slight and quiet, all awkward elbows and knees and long limbs, but that didn’t make her any less pretty with her big brown eyes and a long, black braid that went all the way to her waist.

She looked like any other teenager at Luna Nova, and as Akko was now faced with the target of Detta’s bullying, she felt anger towards her daughter. This was the kind of girl Detta used to protect on the playground when she was little, when other kids would would see an easy victim for their cruel taunts and worse.

Akko looked at Diana, who was also watching Prisha closely. The brunette witch wondered if her wife saw the same things that she did.

“What’s the matter, Prisha?” Chariot asked calmly, breaking up Akko’s brooding thoughts. 

“It’s… It’s Kiyo and Detta,” Prisha said, still looking fearfully between the parents of the girl who bullied her. 

A detached part of Akko remarked that the girl had a beautiful voice. The part that was still reeling from seeing her daughter acting like the worst people Akko had ever known, though, felt completely terrified.

Diana stepped forward. “Prisha,” she said, gently. “You have nothing to fear from either Akko or me. What’s wrong?”

Kiyo’s other roommate pushed in beside Prisha. Akko remembered her name was Aly, a tall, stocky girl from America with hair the color of straw. “They were arguing again,” she said, breathless.

Prisha nodded. “Kiyo said…” She stopped again, eyes flicking back and forth between the headmistress and the two mothers, and Akko wanted to scream in frustration. It wasn’t the girl’s fault, and part of Akko didn’t blame her for being so scattered considering everything happening, but her children were out there doing something reckless and probably dangerous to themselves and each other.

“It’s okay, Prisha,” Chariot said, and Diana took the girl’s hand. “Tell us what happened, please.”

Seeming to gain strength from the blonde professor, Prisha swallowed and stuttered, “Th-they were arguing and Kiyo said a real witch wouldn’t bully people and then Detta stormed out saying she’d show Kiyo what a real witch could do and then Kiyo followed and… and…”

“They grabbed our brooms,” Aly blurted out. “We came straight here from Professor O’Neill’s class. We didn’t know they’d take them, and I tried to follow them, but I couldn’t keep up on foot. They were heading towards New Moon Tower.”

Akko’s heart nearly stopped. “The labyrinth,” she whispered. It was exactly where a young Akko would have gone if someone had pushed her on being a real witch.

Diana paled. “We have to go after them.”

“Take my broom,” Chariot offered. At the surprised looks from both women and Kiyoko’s roommates, she explained. “I keep one on hand in case someone needs it.” Croix had never been able to heal Chariot’s Wagandea Sickness. 

Even that small reminder was painful for Akko since she was responsible for Chariot being exposed to the toxic pollen. She didn’t have time for that though. Her babies needed their mothers. She took the broom wordlessly, and within moments, Akko and Diana flew at top speed out of Chariot’s window towards New Moon Tower.

“Akko…” Diana said as they neared the tower.

“I know,” Akko answered, squeezing her wife tightly from where she sat behind her.

“What if we can’t fix this?” Diana said, voice rough with emotion.

“We can,” Akko answered, trying to will confidence into her own voice. 

“I don’t know how—” Diana began before Akko cut her off.

“I believe in your believing heart,” the brunette said, love flowing through her words. “I’ve always believed in you, Diana. You’re the love of my life and one of the three reasons I get up every day.”

She felt her wife’s body relax ever so slightly at her words. 

They landed beside the tower and entered, hoping to find their girls before they got into too much trouble.

Diana stopped at the tall, imposing gate to the labyrinth, where the age-old vines had recently been torn with the force of the doors swinging open and looked at Akko. Her expression was calm and assured. “We’re going to find them,” she said, leaving no room for argument. “And then we’re going to do whatever it takes to prove to Bernadette that we love her and value her.”

Akko smiled at Diana, admiring her strength. “Also, we ground her for at least a decade.”

“That goes without saying,” Diana answered with a small, confident smirk. “Let’s go save our babies.”

“Remind me to kiss you after this is over and the girls are safe,” Akko grinned. She was going to kiss Diana so hard once they saved the twins that Diana would forget every other kiss they’d ever shared.

“I’ll hold you to that, Dear,” Diana said, drawing her wand and moving forward flanked by Akko.

They walked about a hundred meters in when they saw the gaping hole driven deep into the mossy floor.

“She’s always had your lack of patience,” Diana muttered, unamused.

Akko sighed, not bothering to argue. Why deny the truth? “I guess she didn’t think the upper levels would be challenging enough to prove… whatever it is she’s trying to prove,” Akko surmised.

That was when they heard the shouting that they recognized as their girls… and some unholy screech, which sounded like metal being dragged on metal.

Diana’s eyes went wide. “A chimera,” she whispered.

Akko hissed, and both women mounted the broom, speeding down towards the girls’ voices. It had been a long time since Akko and Diana had faced a chimera. They were awful monsters. Able to shift and bend their bodies, it was almost as if they had no set shape to begin with. If forced to describe them, Akko would say they resembled in some ways a lion or tiger, except she had never met a big cat that breathed fire… and had wings… and a barbed tail with a poison that meant certain doom for anyone stung by it. Not even Diana’s healing magic could save someone from chimera venom, and she was the most talented healer Akko had ever seen.

As they entered the level of the dungeon where the screams originated, a gout of white-hot flame flashed towards them, and Akko was very thankful Diana was the one flying as her wife nimbly twisted and dodged the searing flames. 

Smoke and heat clouded Akko’s vision, and she looked back, barely able to see the hole they had come from melt as the solid stone ceiling to this room of the labyrinth collapsed around them

There wasn’t any going back _that_ way.

Smoke stung her eyes as Diana flew them towards the sounds of battle. Finally, the air cleared and Akko felt terror clawing at her. Her girls stood, back to back, spell after spell flashing in the air from their wands. Barely held at bay around them were a pack of full-grown chimeras, snapping and snarling, circling and looking for any opening in the twins’ defenses.

There were at least twenty of the creatures.

Akko had fought one alongside Diana, and it had taken both of them to bring it down.

She glanced at her wife and was inspired as always by the determined confidence she saw on Diana’s face.

“Take us down,” she said to the woman she loved more than she would have ever thought possible the day they met. To think, she had felt such anger at the disrespect Diana showed Shiny Chariot, and now… 

Now she wouldn’t be beside anyone else going into battle against creatures born of dark sorcery.

Diana nodded, and she had that small smirk of hers that made Akko’s heart surge with confidence. 

Akko sent a blast of magic that momentarily scattered the pack, giving Detta and Kiyo a chance to retreat to the far wall of the room. At least this way, they couldn’t be attacked from all sides.

Diana landed in front of the exhausted girls, and the two mothers started casting spells the moment they hit the ground. They instantly fell into their natural rhythm, Diana shielding while Akko furiously sent out attacking magic.

“Stay behind us, girls!” Diana shouted as she blocked a chimera swooping in from above.

Akko sent a beam of light that split in two to strike two chimeras approaching from the left, thinking to use the shadows to slip close undetected. 

This was bad. Akko knew it. She and Diana were both excellent witches, but this was not a battle they could win. Akko was a woman who believed in herself just as she believed in her wife, but she had lived long enough to know when a battle was unwinnable. 

Surrounded by a pack of vicious magical beasts with two scared, exhausted children to protect… this was one of those battles.

Nevertheless, they did not flag. Not for one instant did either give in to hopelessness or fear. Both witches stood their ground, protecting their children with every ounce of energy they possessed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akko saw Kiyo turn to Detta, and they exchanged one of those wordless conversations the two girls had always been able to share, usually to Akko’s chagrin.

“Distraction?” Kiyo asked.

Detta’s grin was wild and eager, and for the first time Akko truly understood what her mother must have felt many years ago when she turned on the television and saw her little girl fighting an enchanted nuclear missile high above the Earth.

How had she ever been that reckless?

“Detta!” she shouted. “No!”

If anything Detta’s grin grew wider. “You got it, Kiyo.”

“Girls!” Diana called, casting a dome of energy surrounding all four of them as the chimeras began throwing themselves forward in numbers. “You will stay right where you are!”

“Sorry, Mother,” both girls said in unison as Detta rocketed off on her broom.

The thing about shields is the best witches cast them so they only work one way. What good was a shield if you couldn’t cast magic beyond the barrier while staying behind it? Of course, this also meant that a physical object, such as a person, could also leave the protection of a shield, just as Detta had just done.

In other circumstances, Akko was captivated by her daughter’s flying. Bernadette combined the speed and precision she had inherited from her mother, Diana, with flair and showmanship that Amanda, her flight instructor here at Luna Nova, instilled in her best students. 

Detta darted in and amongst the creatures as she weaved and dodged and corkscrewed just out of the reach of their gleaming claws and the snap of their razor-sharp fangs and the piercing strikes of their barbed tails. She led the chimeras away, spiraling and circling as they trailed after her trying to close on her.

Remotely, Akko registered her wife’s scream filled with terror as she tried to get Detta to come back to the safety of her shield.

A flash of movement out of the corner of Akko’s eye caught her attention. Kiyo sprinted out from behind her. Her younger daughter held out her wand before her, and Akko realized—too late—that she had moved outside the shield to get a better angle for her spell.

And that was when everything Atsuko Cavendish-Kagari thought she knew fell away like so many grains of sand blowing in the wind.

Green light glowed around Kiyoko, emanating from the ground and the air and from the girl herself. Her wand twisted and flowed like water—or more like the strange, shifting chimeras they fought—as Kiyo shouted her spell, the words echoing in Akko’s mind like thunder.

“Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!” Kiyoko roared. _Strive for your ideal place._ At this ancient command… this First Word of Arcturus… Kiyoko’s wand twisted into a shining bow which she drew back and loosed, letting fly an arrow of pure light that instantly split into multiple smaller arrows, each targeting one of the chimeras and destroying them on contact.

A shadow behind Kiyoko morphed into the form of a chimera. One of them had remained behind, waiting for its opportunity. The barbed tail struck true finding Kiyoko’s shoulder.

Diana had also seen the shadow, and instinctually she and Akko combined their magic as they had many times before, in perfect synchronization and matching thought and emotion. They fired their own bolt of arcane death at the creature, incinerating it… 

But they were too late.

The stinger and the deadly poison it carried had pierced the skin of Akko’s precious little girl… her lovely, quiet, brilliant, dazzling Kiyoko… and that was all the venom needed to inflict certain death. 

Kiyoko never saw the blow, and Akko wondered if that was a small mercy. Her daughter’s eyes widened for a single moment before her face spasmed in a rictus of pain as she fell forward convulsing.

“Kiyoko!” came a shout from either herself or Diana, or perhaps both.

The two women scrambled to their daughter, and Diana began casting her spell before she had even reached Kiyoko, using all her knowledge of healing magic, but it wouldn’t work. Not against chimera venom. Akko knew this, but she would not have stopped her wife from trying for anything. All she could do was try to hold the still-convulsing teenager while Diana worked. Akko looked on helpless as Kiyo’s crystal blue eyes… her baby’s eyes… rolled back in her head and her breathing… stopped. Akko was sure her own heart stopped with Kiyoko’s breathing.

“Move,” Detta’s forceful command from behind didn’t even register for Akko until she was shoved aside.

Diana looked up at her older daughter in tears where she sat cradling Kiyoko’s head in her lap. “I can’t save her,” she sobbed, voice breaking as tears flowed.

“I can,” Detta said fearfully, eyes locked on Kiyo. Before either she or Diana could ask how, Detta held her hands over Kiyo’s heart. 

A thousand fireflies of light erupted around Bernadette as she took a deep breath and whispered, “Lyonne.” _Thank you._ The Sixth Word of Arcturus. The most powerful healing magic to have ever existed.

Kiyo’s eyes snapped open and she took a deep, gasping breath as Diana hugged her tight.

Akko collapsed to the ground, catching Detta as she listed sideways. Looking at her brave girls, Akko forced herself to stand, pulling Detta along with her.

“We have to go,” she said. “We can’t wait for something else to find us.”

Akko took over Detta’s broom, and Diana flew Kiyo. The twins looked ready to collapse from exhaustion, and the two older witches were fine with a quiet ride back. Akko was eternally thankful that Diana had long ago memorized the patterns of the maze as they made their way back to the surface. They skirted any potential danger and soon enough were at the entrance of the labyrinth.

Diana and Akko shared a look. They didn’t think the girls were up for walking back, so they left the tower with the intention of flying back only to find Chariot and both Kiyo’s and Detta’s roommates waiting for them. They landed in front of Chariot and the small crowd. The twins sat on the ground, unable to muster the energy to stand while their parents stood vigil, still alert for any danger that might try to break free from the labyrinth.

Aly was at Kiyo’s side instantly while Detta’s roommates—Jo, an outspoken, candid English girl of Jamaican heritage, and Seo-yun, a patient Korean student who reminded Akko of Lotte—hesitated before approaching Detta, but only for a moment before they kneeled beside their friend.

Prisha stood midway between Akko’s daughters, looking back and forth between them. It made the feelings of sadness and anger seep back into Akko as she watched the poor girl struggle to decide if she should even approach her own roommate and friend out of fear of Akko’s other daughter.

“Are you alright, Detta?” Seo-yun asked, gently. 

At her touch, Detta sobbed heavily and before Akko or Diana could even begin moving towards Bernadette to comfort her, Prisha was there, shoving in between Detta and her roommates.

The young Indian witch took Detta’s face in her hands and brought her gaze up to meet her own. “Detta, please…” she whispered as she leaned her forehead against Detta, whose sobs only grew in strength.

“Oh,” Diana said.

“Huh,” Akko agreed. “I really misread this situation.” It seemed like a dumb thing to say, but she was completely flummoxed.

“Y-you gotta g-get away from me, P-Prisha!” Detta stuttered between hiccuping sobs. She had always been quick to tears, and part of Akko wanted to go to her just as she had when Bernadette was little, but she stood rooted to the ground. “Y-you’re not s-safe with me!”

“Why isn’t she safe, Bernadette?” Chariot asked, kneeling beside the girl. Akko was so confounded, she hadn’t even seen the headmistress approach.

Detta only closed her eyes and shook her head, refusing to answer.

Chariot sighed. “Let’s get you back to the school.”

Akko moved forward on leaden legs to help Diana gather up Bernadette. A few minutes later, the group was situated in Chariot’s private study. Everyone was seated in a rough circle on three sofas, except Chariot who sat behind her desk. Akko and Diana were seated on the smallest sofa with Kiyo directly across from the headmistress’ desk. Kiyo’s roommate Aly was seated with both of Detta’s roommates to Akko’s left, and Prisha and Detta were seated to her right. Originally, Chariot only wanted the Cavendish-Kagari family, but she likely would have had a fight on her hands if she tried to keep Prisha away from Detta, and letting one roommate attend meant it was easier to allow the other roommates to come along as well. 

It seemed just as well to Akko. Years of experience had taught her that once Detta lost her composure, it could be hours of tears and shouting before she calmed down, but Prisha was able to soothe her in minutes.

Frankly, Akko was impressed. Glancing around, she thought she might be the only member of the Cavendish-Kagari household who felt that way as both Diana and Kiyo were giving Prisha thin-lipped, openly appraising stares. That answered Akko’s question about whether Kiyo knew her roommate was seeing her sister.

“Now,” Chariot began. “Bernadette, why do you feel you’re a danger to others, including Miss Chaudhary… or should I say especially Miss Chaudhary?”

“I’m not supposed to say,” Detta muttered, but she cut her eyes, concerned, toward her twin. “But if Kiyo can use the Words…”

That got Chariot’s attention. “Words?” she asked, dread infusing her question.

Detta shrugged, and Kiyo sighed and rolled her eyes at her obstinate twin before answering, “I can use the Words of Arcturus.”

Chariot looked to Akko and Diana, who nodded confirmation. The headmistress turned her attention to Kiyoko, asking “You have the Claiomh Solais?”

“No,” Kiyo said, eyes still locked on her twin. “When we were studying about the Words in your class last month, I realized I just… knew them. I don’t know how to explain it better.”

Chariot seemed to accept that answer even if she looked shaken to the core, and the explanation made sense to Akko, too. She had never known how she had been able to use the Words other than to say that eventually they just clicked for her. Of course, _she_ had needed the Shiny Rod to use them.

“You can’t use them,” Detta said forcefully. “Kiyo, you have to promise me you won’t use them again!”

Prisha stroked Detta’s back and Detta squeezed her girlfriend’s hand in return. Just thinking that word, “girlfriend,” sent a panicky, unsettled feeling through Akko, although it was different from the disappointment and fear from before. She much preferred this, she supposed, even if she wasn’t ready for her Detta to date. 

Chariot held up a hand to silence the frightened girl, and Detta shrank in on herself. Prisha wrapped an arm around the young blonde.

“I’d like to know why you think your sister should avoid using the Words, Bernadette,” Chariot stated calmly. “But first, Kiyoko, why did you not come to me when you discovered this ability?”

It was Kiyo’s turn to blush. “I… didn’t want to hurt Detta’s feelings. Things have been difficult for her lately, and if I…” She stopped and shrugged.

Detta frowned. “You thought I’d be jealous?”

“All you’ve done this year, Detta,” Kiyo replied, completely exasperated. “Is talk about how everyone loves me and how useless you feel.”

Diana looked at her youngest and asked, “Kiyoko, you weren’t aware Bernadette can use the Words as well?”

Kiyo’s jaw dropped and she looked to Detta for confirmation.

“Yeah, Kiyo,” the older twin confirmed unhappily. “I can.”

“Did you… Did you figure it out in the headmistress’ class, too?”

“Yes,” Detta said, shifting her eyes uncomfortably. It was a tell Akko was very familiar with.

Akko narrowed her eyes and firmly interjected, “Bernadette Hotaru Cavendish-Kagari, you will _stop_ lying to us right this instant. Do you understand me?”

Bernadette deflated under her mom’s harsh words, and everyone else was silent.

“Now,” Akko continued. “When did you discover you could use the Words of Arcturus?”

“It’s okay, Detta,” Prisha reassured her girlfriend, pulling her in tight against her side. “Please trust us. Please let us help you.”

“I was seven,” Detta said in a small voice.

“Seven?” Diana repeated, fear lacing her question as she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Akko recognized that look. She had figured something out.

Bernadette realized it, too. “Yes, Mother,” she muttered nervously.

“The year we stopped allowing Croix and her research team to examine you,” Diana stated.

Akko hissed out a breath. When they had given Croix permission to examine the girls, she and Diana had insisted on being there at all times, but after a year the twins were comfortable and happy to visit their Auntie Croix, so the concerned parents had relaxed their strict conditions. That all changed when they were seven. One day, both girls had come home in tears, and Croix had explained that one of her assistants had been rude to the girls and had gotten angry when they talked back to him. She begged the upset parents to allow her to continue the tests and that she had not only spoken to her entire staff, but that she had fired the research assistant in question.

Seeing their girls in such distress, though, both Diana and Akko were in complete agreement that the tests were over. While Croix wasn’t happy, she had accepted their decision.

“What happened that day with Croix, Detta?” Akko asked. She felt lightheaded at this point. She shared a look with Diana, and her wife took her hand. Glancing at Chariot, Akko saw the headmistress had gripped the arms of her chair so hard that her knuckles were white.

“It wasn’t her,” Bernadette protested, before clamping her mouth shut and refusing to look at anyone.

“Who’s Croix?” Aly asked, and the other roommates, including Prisha, looked on in confusion. Akko had almost forgotten they were in the room.

When Bernadette didn’t answer, Kiyo sighed in frustration. “You’ve never told me what happened, and you were so scared. _Something_ happened. Don’t you trust me of all people, Detta?”

“I trust you more than anyone, Kiyo,” Bernadette answered, and Akko had never heard her older daughter say something with more conviction. “It wasn’t her, though. She was so mad when the guy…” She trailed off and started twirling one of her platinum blonde locks around her finger. It was something she had done since she was small when she was anxious.

“Please, Bernadette,” Chariot said, sounding shakier than Akko had heard her in years. “Please tell us everything.”

“Croix wanted to… see what we were capable of, I guess,” Detta answered quietly with a faraway look as if she was seven years old again and in Croix’s lab, and the room was silent as she told her story. “She was interested in why transformation magic came so naturally to Kiyo and why healing magic was so easy for me… especially my healing magic, I guess. She wanted… She’s always wanted more than anything to heal you, Headmistress du Nord.”

Chariot nodded, eyes locked on Detta, willing her to continue, and Detta complied.

“I think that’s why she was so focused on me,” Bernadette said. “She… um… Well, she was frustrated because I couldn’t explain why I just _knew_ how to cast healing magic I shouldn’t have been able to cast at that age, so she told her assistants to take a break, and she stepped out for a minute. She would do that you know? She always tried to leave the room if she felt frustrated because she didn’t want to upset me.

“One of the assistants… I don’t remember his name… He always hated me. Said I was a whiny brat and that if my parents were smart, they’d beat some sense into me. He never said anything like that in front of Croix, and I was too afraid of him to say anything. Really, I don’t think he liked kids at all. Anyway, he grabbed one of the animals,” Detta paused and swallowed. “I guess I should explain that. Croix would bring in strays she found that had minor injuries or were sick… nothing too bad… like, one puppy had a hurt paw, and she’d have me heal them.

“I really liked that. I mean… I love animals, and it was so nice to feel… useful. At home,” her eyes darted between her mothers as she said this. “I know you both love me, but I always felt like you liked Kiyo better. And this was something I was _good_ at, you know? And I was helping the animals…

“Well, the assistant grabbed one of the cats… a kitten, really… and… he hurt her… right in front of me. He hurt her bad and… and… and it was more than I could heal.

“Croix came in, and she was so angry that he had done that, and she fired him on the spot, but I was so focused on the kitten and her pain, and I just… Well, I used Lyonne.

“Everyone was… shocked doesn’t really cover it, but I don’t know how to describe it better,” Detta said with a nervous laugh. “Croix was scared, though. She said I shouldn’t use the Word again because she thought it might hurt me.”

“Hurt you?” Chariot asked faintly.

Detta nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t understand it at the time, but she told me it had to be our secret, hers and mine, because people might want to use me and it would scare my parents. I trust her, so I kept it secret. Then, she showed up one night after I came here to Luna Nova. She said she had been watching and that she was really proud of me that I’d never used the Words like I promised. She explained that… and Kiyo, this is why you _can’t_ use the Words again… She had her diagnostics running when I used Lyonne, and… and well I overloaded the system. Not only that, but I sort of… She calls it ‘unraveling’. I can put more power into the Words if I try, and the more power I put into it… the more chance I’ll unravel, and that could happen to you, too, Kiyo!”

The young witch took a deep, shuddery breath before continuing as her audience listened, captivated. “It’s because of how we were… made. Croix thinks we’re sorta pure magic come to life and if we push too hard, we’ll just use up all of ourselves and that we’ll kind of… detonate… if we do that. Like a huge bomb.

“I saw you in the labyrinth, Kiyo, when you used the Word. You were fraying at the edges… unraveling… like you were coming apart right in front of me, so you can’t ever use a Word again!”

“Detonate?” Akko said, wondering if her heart was about to just stop. Diana grabbed her for support. 

“What right did Croix have to keep this from us?” Diana asked, angrily.

“None,” Chariot answered.

Jo cleared her throat. “Is Croix the purple-haired woman who shows up sometimes?”

Detta nodded, and Chariot’s expression was pure rage.

“You’ve seen her?” Chariot bit out. “She’s not contacted me for years. She claimed she had a new research project that would change everything we knew about magic.”

Everyone knew now that project was Bernadette.

Akko had never wanted to kill anyone in her entire life. She had never wanted to even _hurt_ anyone until now, but if she got her hands on Croix…

“She’s sick,” Bernadette interjected. “When I came to Luna Nova, she asked if I’d be willing to continue the tests, and… and I really wanted to heal you, Headmistress. It would mean so much to Croix, and she’s been so good to me. You have to believe that! And even if I didn’t do it for Croix, you’re my friend, Headmistress, and Mom is like your biggest fan! I… I wanted to maybe show everyone… show Mom that I’m worth all the trouble I cause!”

“Detta,” Akko rasped. “You are my little girl. You have _nothing_ to prove to me. Ever.”

“That’s right,” Diana insisted, grasping Akko hand in solidarity. “I am so proud of you, Bernadette. We both are.”

Bernadette didn’t look convinced, frowning hard as she shrugged in response before continuing, “Anyway, a couple years ago she got really frustrated again. I had learned to channel more energy as I got older, but it wasn’t enough and she didn’t think I’d ever be strong enough to ever heal you, Headmistress, but then I sorta… made a leap, she called it, right after school started this year, and she was so excited.

“She… Croix made a synthetic version of the Wagandea Pollen because she needed a test subject and she didn’t want to risk anyone else, so she took it herself. But it… It didn’t work right. It’s stronger or something. It took her flight and it’s made her… off. She doesn’t always know where she is or even what year it is. Sometimes she thinks she’s back at Luna Nova before everything with the Shiny Rod, and sometimes she thinks she’s a professor again and that I’m you, Mother. 

“It’s been getting worse the past few months. She barely remembers that she’s even trying to heal you, Headmistress. She’s been… saying crazy things, and a few weeks ago she looked at me and said that I was the key… that I would ‘avenge her.’

“I’ve tried to heal her, Headmistress!” Detta exclaimed. “You’ve got to believe me.”

Chariot was out of her seat in a flash, embracing the teenager. Detta’s girlfriend was also hugging her. Akko wanted to go to Detta, too, but she could feel Kiyo between her and Diana shaking in fear and Kiyo needed her mothers just as much as Detta did.

“I didn’t know, Detta,” Kiyo said, hoarsely. “I’m so sorry, Detta.”

“It’s okay,” Bernadette said, trying to smile bravely. “I’m sorry I’ve been so messed up.”

Chariot stood and gripped Detta’s shoulder. “You’re not at fault for any of that. Neither of you. Someone who I… someone I trusted… someone who should definitely know better has manipulated you. You do bear some culpability for how you’ve treated others, Bernadette, but I think leniency is for the best in this case. As for Croix…”

“But she’s sick, Headmistress,” Detta stubbornly insisted. “I tried to heal her, but it’s just… I can’t do it. I’ve tried, but I can’t. The last time I tried I almost unraveled all the way! I could feel myself sorta fading in and out for days. It’s better now, but if it… If it happens again, I can’t be near _any_ of you.”

Upon hearing those words, a wave of nausea washed over Akko and she had to hold Diana tight to stay upright. Her baby was in danger?! She might _come apart_ like she had never existed in the first place?! How dare Croix push her so hard? How dare that woman make Detta feel it was her responsibility to heal Croix’s mistakes?

Detta turned to Prisha. “That’s why you’ve got to stay away from me, Prisha. I… I’m in love with you, and I can’t hurt you. That’s the last thing I want!”

The young Indian witch tightened her embrace. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Detta.”

Akko stood. “Chariot,” she said. “We’ve got a lot to figure out, but I’m taking the girls home tonight.” It wasn’t a request, and she didn’t mind forcing the issue if she had to.

“Take them for the rest of the week,” Chariot agreed. She sounded almost broken, and it hurt Akko to hear someone she loved so much sound so lost.

Diana and Kiyo had moved to be near Detta. Akko’s family was together at least. What she would do about Croix… She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t ever let the woman near her children again.

“Can…” Detta started and hesitated.

“What is it, Sweetheart?” Diana asked, voice cracking. “Just tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

“Can our roommates come visit if we’re going home? I know they’ll miss a couple of days of school, but… I don’t know… It would be nice to just hang out and have some fun with them.”

She turned to Prisha before Chariot had a chance to grant permission or not for the others to miss classes, or for Akko and Diana to answer, either.

“I’m sorry, Prisha,” she said. “I was so mean breaking up with you, and if you don’t ever want to forgive me—”

She was cut off as Prisha pulled her close and kissed her.

Chariot cleared her throat. “I think I’ll have a small holiday for the school, and we’ll sort everything out next week.”

Diana arched an eyebrow. “Of course the girls can come over in that case, but we’re going to have some ground rules about appropriate behavior at sleepovers considering.”

Both Detta and Prisha blushed as Kiyo chuckled, wiping away tears.

Akko swooped in and hugged both her girls, crying. “Oh, girls… please stop growing up so fast.”

Detta hugged her back and said, “Okay, Mom. I’ll stop growing up.”

“When did you ever start?” Kiyo snarked.

Akko sighed. It would take some time to heal, and it wasn’t going to be easy, but her family was going to be okay. As long as she and Diana had each other, they’d make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie. Worried about this one. I love this little family, and I wanted to throw a challenge at them that required all four to come together and rely on each other to get through it safely. But it’s a bit on the darker side in certain respects, and I wanted to show the contrast between good and not-so-good to give a real sense of tension to the narrative. Basically, I want this to feel like an earned victory, and I hope I succeeded.
> 
> Also, I wanted to get Chariot du Nord involved in this week’s fictions. She’s a great character in canon characterization, and I wanted to explore where she might end up... and wherever Chariot is, Croix is sure to follow.
> 
> I also really love the international flavor of Luna Nova in the series, and I wanted to pay tribute to that. Prisha is a neat character and I’ll likely use her in the future. Oh, and one small note... Kiyoko is the better flyer of the twins, but she didn't realize that Bernadette could use the Words of Arcturus. If she had, she would have insisted on being the one to create the distraction. Of course, as you've seen Bernadette is no slouch when it comes to flying.
> 
> I hope this one is enjoyable, and I especially hope it’s thrilling and poignant at times. I couldn’t have gotten through this one without very involved critical reading from asimaiyat, so I want to give a special acknowledgement to them.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Tomorrow, we have a much lighter episode. I promise.


End file.
